Sometimes Christians do things that are really embarassing to other Christians. The story out of the LA Times is the latest.
Some out there are trying to speed the promised arrival of the messiah. For some Christians this means laying the groundwork for Armageddon.
The Times reports: "With that goal in mind, mega-church pastors recently met in Inglewood to polish strategies for using global communications and aircraft to transport missionaries to fulfill the Great Commission: to make every person on Earth aware of Jesus' message. Doing so, they believe, will bring about the end, perhaps within two decades."
In Iran they have a similar idea. They have speant millions to welcome the return of a Muslim messiah known as the Mahdi. (To the majority of Shiites, the Mahdi was the last of the prophet Muhammad's true heirs, his 12 righteous descendants chosen by God to lead the faithful.) They hope to welcome the Mahdi to Tehran within two years.
According to various polls, an estimated 40% of Americans believe that a sequence of events presaging the end times is already underway. Among the believers are pastors of some of the largest evangelical churches in America, who converged at Faith Central Bible Church in Inglewood, CA in February to finalize plans to start 5 million new churches worldwide in 10 years.
For Christians, the future of Israel is the key to any end-times scenario, and various groups are reaching out to Jews — or proselytizing among them — to advance the Second Coming.
But are we really in control of the time table? Is God just waiting for us to finish our job? A growing number of fundamentalist Christians in mostly Southern states are adopting Jewish religious practices to align themselves with prophecies saying that Gentiles will stand as one with Jews when the end is near.
Christians, Roman Catholics and some Protestant denominations, believe in the Second Coming but don't try to advance it. It's important to be ready for the Second Coming, they say, though its timetable cannot be manipulated.
LA TIMES
3 comments:
Roman Catholics are Christians.
I did not mean to imply they are not. (I am one!) I just wanted to cover all the bases.
Roman Catholics are Christians.
Actually, as PBall has written, it and he is correct more correct than your correction of him.
He said "Christians, Roman Catholics and some Protestant denominations believe..."
ALL true Christians (C and non-C) believe in the second coming - we have a living hope that makes us believe. Glad he got it out and up front! Good job PBall.
As for the other two ...
Nominal believers (who can say it but there's no life and heart change) also believe. In fact, Chrsit said Himself of the demonic realm that they believe AND tremble. Belief (and/or mental assent to) in the eventual rise of Christ as Universal King does not bring salvation - nor does belief that Jesus was a real historical being that lived and died under the Roman occupation of the land of Palestine.
Post a Comment